August was slower because I took a week and a half off to take my son to Miami to start his freshman year. This brief disruption allowed for a group to encroach on the wholesale account I set up in July. Although the time away from the business allowed me to assess how everything operated without my hand in all aspects, the drop off wasn’t horrible on StockX as the younger guys learned to operate the online and office.
Resale from retail is dead without hookups, or insider knowledge. The days of walking in and getting lucky on 5-10 pair of kicks, is history. I didn’t spend much at retail. I had been using the sneaker apps to see if I could continue winning “hyped” sneakers that could garner resale, but after using the FLX app to get a host of rewards, I haven’t won a raffle there since. I have to wonder if there is a correlation between actually using the points earned and actually winning raffles. The FLX app also randomly listed me as a bot and blocked me from using the app.
I’ve completely stopped using the Hibbett Sports app. I’ve only won once there. As much as I like their rewards program, I just don’t spend as much money at retail as I once did when I earned 1600 dollar coupons from Hibbett MVP. The Jimmy Jazz app, which showed promise, isn’t very good either, but that has more to do with logistics and my region not getting very many big releases.
I’ve resorted to utilizing SNKRS and the Nike app, which is very telling. While Nike is still getting the retro drops and some of the more coveted sneakers like Dunks to retail outlets, the urban accounts’ walls are filled with Nike shoes in duplicates. There are styles available, but the consumer is only looking for hyped releases (Dunks and Jordan 1s). The over-reliance of urban retail on those models and urban retail’s own failure to market/merchandise anything other brands has to be leading to a slow down overall. Serious note: I basically took two weeks off in August. This time off not a single pair of shoes was sold from another brand. In my business I’m the only person out of everyone I buy from or trade with, who will go to a retailer to attempt to look at other brands. The new generation of reseller, which is important for sites looking to grow, looks to adidas and Nike/Jordan. This does not require business savvy or predictions. This new era of resale is built on computer speed and luck. A business can’t operate that way, which means that resale is fragile in its growth.
MAY 2021 I spent $2,508.00 at FootLocker and Footaction locations, $593.00 at City Gear and $362.00 at Hibbett Sports. The majority of the money spent was to Nike and that total was $9,735.00.
JUNE 2021 I spent only $1,572.00 at FootLocker and Footaction locations, $1,076.00 at City Gear and nothing at Nike or Hibbett Sports.
JULY 2021: I spent 473.00 at FootLocker, 159 at Champs and 220 at Footaction. $852.00 spent at FootLocker. I spent 1569.00 at City Gear locations. I didn’t spend anything with Hibbett Sports or Nike.
AUGUST 2021: I spent 92.62 at FootLocker, $241.76 at City Gear. No other retail outlets earned a penny from me.
Does this mean all of retail has slowed down? No. Remember, this report is built on resale through third party platforms. The acquisition of footwear from retailers is representative of a slowdown in resale overall. There simply isn’t a lot of product that is garnering a resale value. I’ve explained this in a couple of ways:
- the constant coverage of one brand on dominant sneaker media
- the use of Edit to Amplify by Nike in focusing heavily on what is selling.
Traditional retail, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and low end family based sneaker stores, have solid foot traffic due to the diversity of footwear in their doors. A place like Dick’s is beginning to get an assortment of “cool” kicks and the stores are becoming places a reseller can pop into and find a couple of options. Mainstream retail and urban retail’s heavy reliance on Nike is a serious issue that needs to be discussed.
Where is my money going? In July 2021 my consignment spending was $86,340. Understandably, my two weeks out led to a decrease. August 2021 my business was almost all consignment payments for footwear. I spent $61,879.
August HIGHLIGHTS
- While I stress that resale is primarily Jordan 1 and Dunk, August showed the most diverse product mix of Nike shoes sold in resale. It reminds me that Nike is capable of playing in every price tier in the industry. The brand even garners resale on completely unexpected models. I had to start a new series on the site named “What’s Quietly Hot?” so I could get into this continued move by Nike into the low end with a variety of products.
- Sales on StockX in July hit $60,818 before fees. After fees net was $53,901.18. While I wasn’t working for two weeks, the team kept things rolling and the expected dropoff wasn’t bad at all. Gross on StockX in August was $45,196 gross. That’s on par with the previous month. Net was $39,943.02.
- July I sold 469 pair. In August, I sold 382 pair. Once again, this is expected with the time off.
What does all of this mean? Bullet number 1 is the focus for any person trying to understand what is selling with Nike outside of the hyped product. This was definitely one of the most interesting mix of shoes to go through resale. That’s because Nike’s doors improved their options for back to school, so consignment was a mixed bag from toddler’s to retro skate shoes. I’ve also found that last month’s surprise sneaker was very limited at mainstream retail. The Zoom GT Cut remained a resale beast because Nike controlled the distribution. A true surprise was the skate model that became a resale darling for the final week.
